By WND. Then-FBI Director James Comey indicated in a December 2016 email that then-CIA Director John Brennan insisted on including the debunked, anti-Trump dossier funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign in the Intelligence Community report concluding Russia interfered in the 2016 election. . .

This week, Attorney General William Barr appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham to investigate the origins of the charge of Trump campaign collusion with Russia. The claim led to a nearly two-year, $35 million special counsel probe that threatened the Trump presidency, damaged his administration and Republicans politically, and set back their agenda.

But Herridge said a former CIA official, speaking on background, blamed Comey for the inclusion of the dossier in the Intelligence Community Assessment.

“Former Director Brennan, along with (former Director of National Intelligence) James Clapper, are the ones who opposed James Comey’s recommendation that the Steele dossier be included in the intelligence report,” the source said. . .

On Wednesday, Judicial Watch released Justice Department emails showing former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr and State Department official Kathleen Kavalec used Steele dossier material to target Trump after he won the 2016 election. (Read more from “Email: Comey Blamed Brennan for Promoting Debunked Dossier” HERE)

By Fox News. A high-level dispute over which senior government officials pushed the unverified Steele dossier amid efforts to surveil the Trump campaign has broken out into the open again, after it emerged that Attorney General William Barr appointed a U.S. attorney to examine the origins of the Russia investigation and determine if the FBI and DOJ’s actions were “lawful and appropriate.”

Sources familiar with the records told Fox News that a late-2016 email chain indicated then-FBI Director James Comey told bureau subordinates that then-CIA Director John Brennan insisted the dossier be included in the intelligence community assessment on Russian interference, known as the ICA.

Fox News was told that the email chain – not yet public — referred to the dossier as “crown material,” but it was not clear why this apparent code was used. On Tuesday night, former GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy said on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum” that “Comey has a better argument than Brennan, based on what I’ve seen.”

A day earlier, Gowdy told Fox News, “Whoever is looking into this, tell them to look into emails” from December 2016 involving Brennan and Comey. Gowdy, who is now a Fox News contributor, said his assessment was based on sensitive Russia records he reviewed as then-chairman of the Republican-led House Oversight Committee. (Read more from “Dispute Erupts over Whether Brennan, Comey Pushed Steele Dossier, as DOJ Probe into Misconduct Begins” HERE)